


fourth row center left

by chewhy



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Evil Seungmin, Fluff, Frenemies, M/M, Meet-Cute, kind of... mostly just on Seungmin's part heh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 01:00:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17415950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chewhy/pseuds/chewhy
Summary: based on a true story (twitter thread)...transfer student!felix and teacher's pet!seungmin feat. mild minho and jeongin eating pickles





	fourth row center left

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sydnaynay (bandable)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bandable/gifts).



> this is probably way too late to still be considered a birthday fic, right? well, happy late birthday syd(naynay)! and! congrats on moving in/out(?) so this is a congrats on moving fic instead of a birthday fic ily

It’s the first class of the semester, and Seungmin shows up fifteen minutes earlier, smiling at the professor as he settles down in his seat. His pens and pencils are arranged neatly in a row, blue, black, red horizontally on the top left corner of his desk, one mechanical pencil for the graphs and an eraser next to it placed vertically on the right-hand corner. A new notebook sits opened to the third page - the first two are saved for the table of contents - and is labeled with his name, the year, and the class code on top of quality, office brand labeling tape. 

 

He’s as ready for class as ever, and even though nobody’s called him a “teacher’s pet” since middle school, he knows what he’s here for and he knows how he’s going to study for it and succeed. 

 

Then, five minutes after class begins, some blonde kid shows up in the middle of the professor’s introduction. 

 

“Hello, sorry, sorry,” the kid says and his accent is thick, making Seungmin realize he’s either an international student or an exchange student. 

 

Seungmin is fully ready to move on with his life and ignore this fumbling buffoon, right up until he tries to scoot into Seungmin’s row, bumping his neatly arranged pencils with his backpack as he slides on by. 

 

“Oh, I’m sorry!” the kid exclaims, leaning down to pick up the pencil and only upturning the pens in the process as his head bumps against the underside of the table on his way back up. “Oh, shoot, I got that,” he says, reaching down once more.

 

Seungmin doesn’t really care to let his notebooks fall to the ground on top of that, too, so instead, he reaches his foot forward, stepping on the pens and dragging them back closer to his reach before the other student can harass him further. “It’s fine.” And maybe, in the midst of all this, Seungmin’s face and ears have turned a bright red with all the attention that’s on him as the professor waits for the commotion to somewhat settle down. 

 

“Ah, sorry about that,” the boy says once more, settling down in the seat  _ right next to Seungmin _ . 

 

Internally, Seungmin wonders why the hell out of all the tables in this gigantic lecture hall, the boy chose to sit next to him, but externally he just pulls a tight smile on his face and says, “Don’t worry about it.”

 

“I’m Felix by the way,” the kid, Felix, says holding out a hand for Seungmin to shake. 

 

Seungmin looks down at it for a moment in distaste, wondering whether the kid is here to learn anything at all as the professor moves on in the lecture without them, before sighing and shaking it. “Cool. I’m Seungmin.”

 

“Nice to meet you!” Felix responds brightly.

 

“Mhmm.” That’s the only response Felix gets out of Seungmin for the rest of that day. 

 

Seungmin sits up straight and tries to focus as well as he can, but he can’t help but be constantly distracted by the kid next to him as Felix shakes his leg, fidgets with his bangs, and coughs every now and then. It’s  _ annoying _ , Seungmin decides, but he can only sigh loudly every so often and try his best to pay attention to the teacher’s lecture.

 

It also doesn’t help that the teacher is about 180 years old and talks like a goblin whose voice sounds like a handful of rocks being thrown onto the concrete. 

 

Eventually, Seungmin realizes that his time would be better spent watching the clock on the wall tick down to the last minute of class until finally, he’s free to go. 

 

He gets up, packing his bags away as quickly as possible. Just when he’s about to turn away, he feels a tap on his shoulder.

 

Confused, Seungmin turns around to be greeted by Felix’s smiling face and a hand outstretched his way. When Seungmin just blinks stupidly down at his hand, Felix’s smile dims a little bit, before suddenly returning in full force and almost blinding Seungmin as his gut does a little flip in his stomach. 

 

“It was nice meeting you, Seungmin! I’m glad we can share a class together!” Felix says, grabbing Seungmin’s hand and shaking it.

 

“Oh, um, yeah,” Seungmin answers, gently extricating his hand from Felix’s grasp. “You, too.”

 

And then he promptly runs out of the classroom. He has no idea what happened just then, but Seungmin decides then and there that he doesn’t like it one bit. 

 

\--

 

The rest of his day passes just fine. Seungmin meets up with his friends, introduces them to Jeongin, a new freshman from his old high school, and finishes the rest of his classes for the day. 

 

He effectively forgets about the whole incident from earlier that morning, throwing it into the back of his mind as something that won’t be necessary to think about ever again. 

 

That is, until Wednesday when he has to return to that dreaded Auditorium 4A in Lecture Building 2. 

 

He’s done his calculations and decided that this class doesn’t quite factor into his priorities enough to be worth missing fifteen extra minutes of sleep, so he strolls in more casually at 8:59 AM, just a minute before the class is set to start. 

 

The professor is as of yet nowhere to be seen, so Seungmin just walks down the rows and back to his seat from two days ago, only to be greeted by a stack of textbooks and paper. 

 

“Um, what?” Seungmin asks, looking at the desk. He chose this seat for a reason, fourth row center left, and has no intention of being forced out for somebody else’s storage space. 

 

“Oh, hey Seungmin! Good morning, man!” a familiar voice calls out. 

 

Seungmin’s gaze travels up and beyond the stack of books, landing on the owner of said items. “Felix. Good morning. Is this your stuff?”

 

Maybe it’s the language barrier, but even with Seungmin using his coldest, chilliest voice, Felix smiles even wider, stretching a hand out in greeting. “Yeah! How’s it going?” Seungmin just half-heartedly smacks Felix’s hand away, which only makes Felix light up more. “Cool! High five!”

 

As Seungmin stares in disbelief, Felix shrugs and takes back his hand to begin moving his stuff off of the, no,  _ Seungmin’s _ desk. After what feels like an eternity of Felix shuffling his papers around, finally the desk is cleared of all of belongings, but Seungmin continues to stand and stare, absolutely baffled. 

 

“Well,” Felix says, shifting under Seungmin’s stare. He clears his throat and continues, “Are you going to sit?”

 

“Oh. Yeah, I guess.” Seungmin sits. 

 

“So how was your - ” as Felix tries to speak, the professor finally walks in, and Seungmin opts to ignore Felix to pay attention to the absolutely riveting lecture on the GDP. The rest of the class passes in similar silence other than the occasional squeaks and creaks here and there as Felix shifts restlessly in his chair. 

 

Finally, the professor draws the lecture to a close, and Seungmin rushes out of class, ignoring Felix’s shouted, “See you around, Seungmin!”

 

\--

 

Later around lunch time as they sit in the dining hall and pick at the gross slob of brownish gray soup they were served, Seungmin complains about how absolutely bothersome the foreign kid in his morning class is while Minho mostly ignores him and Jeongin attempts to catch up on the homework that he is somehow already behind on within the first week of school.

 

Woojin just gives him a long look before saying, “You know, you could just change seats.”

 

Seungmin scoffs, offended. “Um, no. I sat there first.”

 

“What are you in, elementary school? Chill out, the poor kid just wants to make friends,” Minho says, slapping a piece of lettuce onto Jeongin’s papers. “Oops. See, this is why you shouldn’t try so hard.”

 

Jeongin just picks up the piece of lettuce, eats it, then continues to write. 

 

“First, that was disgusting. Second, no, my pride is on the line. And it’s the best seat in the classroom and I refuse to give it up because of some annoying exchange student. He’ll probably stop showing up for classes eventually, anyway,” Seungmin rants. 

 

“Yeah, whatever,” Minho answers. “I’m going to go get some ice cream.”

 

“Oh, can you get me some, too?” Jeongin asks, finally zoning in on the conversation.

 

“How about… no.”

 

Jeongin sighs, finally putting away his books. “Okay fine, I’ll come with.”

 

And that’s the end of that topic. 

 

\--

 

Except, Felix doesn’t stop showing up for classes. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Felix is sitting there, books stacked up on Seungmin’s desk, hand outstretched for a high five. 

 

Slapping Felix’s hand away harder doesn’t seem to work at all, as Felix just says, “Oi, quite nice, mate! Have you been working out?” and for some strange and surely scientific reason, this makes Seungmin blush.

 

“What. No. Move your stuff.”

 

Felix complies, bringing his books back over to his desk as he talks about the past week and what’s been going on in his life while Seungmin zones out, watching Felix’s eyes crinkle as he recounts one particularly funny event.

 

Suddenly, there’s a lull and Seungmin realizes that Felix is looking at him, making his face flush again as he bites out, “What.”

 

“Oh, nothing, just. Are you going to sit?” Felix asks, gesturing at the now empty desk.

 

“Oh, yeah.” Seungmin sits. 

 

“I like your hair today,” Felix says in his deep voice.

 

“Shut. Shut up.” Luckily, the professor walks in just then. Who knew housing market crashes could be so interesting.

 

\--

 

The pattern continues for a few more weeks until their first exam of the semester rolls around. Seungmin buckles up, pretty confident based on what he’s heard about the curve in this class. 

 

Then, the next week, they get their exams handed back and… Maybe this time, Seungmin overestimated himself. He looks down at the red markings on his paper, and even though he knows it’s not too far below average, he can’t help but lower his head and blink rapidly as he looks at the bright red “71” circled on his paper. He takes a deep breath, thinking to himself that it’s not so bad, college isn’t as easy as high school. Seungmin’s not entirely sure if his attempts to cheer himself up are working.

 

“Ah shit. I’ll say, that exam was straight trash,” Felix says, scooting into the row and disrupting the mood. 

 

Seungmin glares sharply at him, watching as Felix bumps his kneecap into the armrest and curses softly. “Well aren’t you late this morning.”

 

Felix just shrugs and says, “Slept in a little late. But thanks for saving my seat.” He has a small smile on his face, and when Seungmin realizes he’s been looking for a little too long, he quickly turns away, flipping over his exam in a hurry to hide the score. 

 

Felix doesn’t try to make much conversation today, and Seungmin is glad as it gives him an opportunity to focus on the lecture. And yet somehow, he finds himself, again and again, looking to his right side. He watches Felix take notes with his childish handwriting and awful grammar, biting his lip in concentration and - he needs to snap out of it. 

 

Grumbling gibberish to himself, he looks back at his notebook and sees a blank page with only a couple of words of random thought scattered across the page.

 

_ GDP… equilibrium… Walrasian… freckles…  _

 

Seungmin blinks blankly at the word, surrounded by a constellation of dots.  _ When did I write that, _ he thinks.

 

Just then, Felix’s left arm bumps up against his, making his pen skew across the page leaving a big black streak. 

 

Dumb, freckle-faced, left-handed, rosy-lips, oversized-sweater-wearing Felix with his dumb cute accent and - wait, what? Seungmin shakes his head. 

 

“I’m so sorry, are you okay?” Felix asks, leaning over to look at Seungmin. 

 

In a hurry, Seungmin covers his page to shield it from Felix’s eyes. “No! I mean, yeah, I’m fine. Whatever.”

 

Felix shrinks back, and Seungmin can’t concentrate on anything for the rest of the day. The second the clock hits 10:00, Seungmin is out the door of the lecture hall leaving a confused Felix in his wake. 

 

\--

 

Later, Jeongin idly munches on a hot dog sans bun and mustard (so basically, a sausage sandwiched between two pickles, which Jeongin proudly calls his “pickle bun-vention”, and a packet of ketchup which Jeongin drinks from in between bites) as he watches Seungmin pace around his dorm room, arms waving frantically as he rants to Jeongin about how he’s failing his classes because  _ stupid  _ Felix and his  _ stupid _ freckle-face keep  _ stupidly _ distracting him. Minho is sat on the opposite end of the couch, looking on in horror. At Jeongin, not Seungmin. 

 

“Hyung,” Jeongin says. “I think you’re  _ stupidly _ crushing on this dude with how much you talk about him.”

 

Seungmin blanches. He turns around to pace back towards Jeongin, all the while sputtering, and then halts suddenly. “What? No! I mean. What?” Turning back around he paces back to the other side of the room, and then whirls back towards Jeongin once more, this time shouting, “You! How! Why?” and then finally, faces the door again.

 

Just then, Woojin opens the door and walks in with a box of pizza. “Hey guys, I brought a surprise!”

 

Seungmin continues walking, out the open door, and into the hallway. Woojin turns and watches him go, turning to look back at Jeongin and Minho who are still seated on the couch. “What did you guys do?” he asks. 

 

“I didn’t do anything!” Jeongin pleads. “Please give me the pizza, I promise it wasn’t my fault!”

 

Minho just sighs and pats Jeongin’s head. “I don’t understand how somebody so stupid can be so smart.”

 

\--

 

After that day, Seungmin decides that he has had enough and that Felix’s chatter is too much of a distraction for him during this lecture. So every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Seungmin comes into the lecture hall and sneaks into the back row. Even if he has trouble seeing the board from so far away, at least he knows he won’t be distracted by Felix whispering in his ear or bumping against his elbow. 

 

And yet, he can’t help but find himself zoning out and looking away from the lecture slides. Maybe Seungmin can try to blame it on the early hour, or even the size of the lecture hall, but he has no excuse for the way his eyes always wander to the same spot, over and over again.

 

Even without looking, Seungmin finds his notebook covered in a constellation of freckles and doodles of the backside of Felix’s head. He sees how Felix tries to wave and say hi to Seungmin at the end of each class, but he turns away in a flash every time, rushing away as soon as the professor finishes his last sentence. 

 

It isn’t until a few weeks later that the pattern breaks. Seungmin walks into class, sets down his bag, and pulls out his pens and notebook. He’s begun writing down the date across the top of the page when he sees a movement out of the corner of his eye and looks up. 

 

There, fourth row center left. As usual, the desk is covered by the mess of Felix’s papers and books, and next to it sits Felix, hunched over his phone. 

 

Except, today… Another student that Seungmin doesn’t really recognize comes down and taps Felix on his shoulder. Surprised, Felix turns and looks up at the other student before smiling, shaking his head and pointing at the seat as he says something. The student turns away, and before Seungmin knows what he’s doing, he stands up and walks down the steps, finally arriving at Felix’s row.

 

_ Huh _ , Seungmin thinks to himself.  _ Felix’s row.  _

 

Just a couple of weeks ago, he would have probably been seething about Felix daring to breathe too closely in  _ his _ row but now… 

 

“Seungmin! Aren’t you going to take a seat? I haven’t seen you in a while,” Felix says, moving his books from the table one by one. 

 

Seungmin watches in a daze until the desk is fully cleared, and an open chair remains. Fourth row, center left. “Did-” Seungmin coughs, shaking his head. “Did you save that seat for me?” he asks, still standing. 

 

“Well, yeah?” Felix answers. “Are you going to sit?”

 

“Why?” Seungmin asks. He’s not even sure why he bothers to ask, but somewhere inside, he just has to know. 

 

“Well,” Felix answers slowly, looking confused. “You’re my friend,” he shrugs. 

 

And at that moment, Seungmin realizes three things. 

 

One. They’re friends.

 

Two. Seungmin really, really,  _ really _ likes Felix. 

 

And three. Seungmin has been an asshole this whole time. 

 

He clears his throat and looks down at Felix with a smile. “Maybe later, sometime, do you want to grab a coffee?”

 

Felix smiles back, and Seungmin is blinded by how brightly his face shines. “Yeah. Yeah, I’d really love that.”

 

Just then, somebody nudges Seungmin’s shoulder saying, “Excuse me, young man. If you would let me through, I would like to get this lecture started.”

 

Turning, Seungmin comes face to face with the professor and as he scans the room, he realizes that the whole lecture hall has been watching the exchange. One guy, who Seungmin recognizes as the one that Felix turned away from  _ Seungmin’s _ seat, lets out a big wolf whistle and begins to clap, making a few of the other students seated around him break out in small patters of applause until somebody shouts out, “Shut the fuck up, it’s too early for this!”

 

Seungmin takes that as his cue to go, scrambling back up the steps before swerving and hurrying back down to inform Felix, “Sorry, I left my stuff up there but, uhm.” Seungmin fidgets with his hands, not sure what he’s trying to say before deciding to eventually point to the back of the room. “I’ll wait? After class over… there?”

 

Felix just smiles. “Of course! High five!”

 

And this time, Seungmin smiles and notices how small and soft Felix’s hands are.

 

He spends the rest of the class, distracted, wondering how Felix’s fingers might feel slotted in between his. 


End file.
